Benjamin Mendy Auctions World Cup Replica: A Controversial Decision

Benjamin Mendy has never been far from a headline. This time, it is not a tackle, a court case or a transfer doing the talking, but a piece of gold-plated history: his official replica of the World Cup trophy.

The 2018 winner with France has put his personal symbol of football’s highest honour under the hammer, and the decision has detonated a fierce debate.

A World Cup on the block

The replica, awarded to each member of the France squad that conquered the world in Russia, was listed in the Global Football Auction Part 2, run by American sports memorabilia specialists Goldin.

It went for 62,000 dollars — roughly 54,000 euros.
A fan’s dream centrepiece. A player’s ultimate keepsake. Gone to the highest bidder.

For many supporters, the idea that a World Cup winner would part with such an item borders on sacrilege. Social media filled with accusations of disrespect, of ingratitude, of a player turning his back on a once‑in‑a‑lifetime achievement.

Mendy did not stay silent for long.

“My trophy or yours?”

Taking to Snapchat, the defender fired back with a blunt message that cut straight through the noise.
“Is this my trophy or yours?” he said. “In the end it belongs to me, and I do with it as I please.”

No diplomacy. No attempt to soothe feelings. Just a reminder that the medal, the memories and the replica are his, not public property.

Then came the sarcasm. As reported by RMC in France, Mendy joked that the trophy had become more burden than treasure.
“And on top of that, it was taking up far too much space in the cupboard.”

He pushed the point even further, hinting that the World Cup replica might not be the last piece of his past to go under the gavel.
“And by the way, I still have more titles up for sale,” he added.

It was a line that sounded as much like a provocation as a practical note. If the World Cup can go, anything can.

From Monaco to Manchester – and the fall

The object he has just sold represents only one chapter of a career that once looked unstoppable.

Before Russia 2018, Mendy had already climbed fast. He became French champion with Monaco in 2017, part of a thrilling side that ripped through Ligue 1 and Europe. That form earned him a 58 million euro move to Manchester City, at the time making him the most expensive defender in football history.

At City, the silverware flowed. Between 2017 and 2023, Mendy collected eight trophies, including four Premier League titles, as Pep Guardiola’s team reshaped English football’s landscape. On the international stage, he won 10 caps for France and secured his place in history as a member of Didier Deschamps’ World Cup‑winning squad.

Then everything stopped.

In 2021, Mendy’s career was derailed by several charges of rape and attempted rape. Football faded into the background as he spent more than two years fighting for his name and his freedom, including time in detention. In July 2023, a court cleared him of all charges.

The verdict closed the case in legal terms, but the impact on his life and career was already brutal. Those lost years are not easily reclaimed.

A career rebuilt in quieter corners

When Mendy finally returned to the pitch, it was far from the glare of the Premier League spotlight.

He restarted at Lorient in France, a modest stage compared to the Etihad, but a vital one for a player simply trying to feel like a footballer again. From there came moves to Zurich in Switzerland and then to Pogon Szczecin in Poland, where he is under contract until June 2027.

The path now is very different from the one he once strode, but it is a path nonetheless. Matches to play. Training sessions to endure. A career to salvage.

And somewhere in a private collection, far from the dressing rooms of Szczecin, sits the gold‑plated reminder of what he once reached.

Mendy has chosen to let that object go. The memories, and the arguments about what a World Cup should mean to a player, are not going anywhere.